The present invention relates to a musical score block copy forming apparatus which can display a musical score on the basis of notes input by key operations on a musical keyboard and other musical score data, so that its layout can be changed on a screen
Various attempts have been made to develop a musical score block copy forming apparatus for inputting musical score data and forming a block copy of a musical score on the basis of the input musical score data. In general, of the musical score data, note data are of prime importance, and European Patent Disclosure No. 53393 discloses an example of the way of inputting and processing the note data. According to the invention disclosed in this disclosure, note data is input at a function keyboard together with tone pitch data and tone duration data. When an accidental (e.g., sharp ".music-sharp.", flat ".music-flat.", or the like) is to be added to a note, a function key meaning the accidental is depressed to input the accidental. In such an input method, note data is input by inputting tone pitch data and tone duration data at the function keyboard, and an input operation cannot be smoothly performed. More specifically, a chord representing that three or more tones are played at the same time must be input by separately inputting constituting tones.
An original of a musical score to be printed is normally a handwritten musical score. If tone pitch data can be input at a piano keyboard like in a performance of a piano while observing this original, an input time can be shortened. To realize this, a method of inputting tone pitch data using a piano keyboard input device is disclosed in British Patent No 1337201. According to the method disclosed in this British patent, note data can be input more smoothly than by using a function keyboard, and it is preferable that an accidental is input by depressing a black key of piano keys.
However, in such a system, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,386, edited musical score data is temporarily transferred to a host computer, and is printed out by a graphic printer, resulting in a large-scale system. In recent years, an apparatus has been developed wherein a musical score block copy forming apparatus is separated from a host computer, and a musical score is formed by a personal computer. An output device for forming a block copy is connected to a personal computer so as to facilitate formation of a block copy. Since input musical score data forms a musical score on a display screen in accordance with an original, a great advance can be achieved as compared to a conventional musical score block copy forming apparatus which displays note data as codes.
The personal computer type musical score block copy forming apparatus for forming a musical score has the following problems.
More specifically, musical score data input at a piano keyboard and a function keyboard are displayed on a music sheet on a screen on the basis of a predetermined layout (assignment). However, the predetermined layout must be frequently changed during an operation. That is, in a musical score once formed, a staff gap is extended or notes are moved in units of measures. In this case, signature data, character data, word data, guitar chord data, and the like must be moved to follow extension of the staff gap or movement of the notes.
However, since the signature data, word data, guitar chord data, and the like are processed independently of the staff data and note data, when the layout of notes once formed is changed, various data must be separately moved, and a method of achieving this has not been established yet.